Buckle.



G. S. GOMSTOGK, SB.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1913. 1,126,404, Patented 52111.26, 1915.

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THE NORRIS PETERS CO.v PHOTO-LITHLL. v/AsHINGmN. D, C

buckles, particularly wire buckles.

PATENT CLARK S. GOMSTOCK, SR, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

BUCKLE.

Application filed March 18, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLARK S. CoMs'rooK, S12,a citizen of the United States, residing in East Orange, in the countyof Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

I This invention relates to guards for the ends of buckle tongues, andhas for an object to provide an eficient and inexpensive guard for thesharp ends of the tongues of The doubletongued member of these bucklesis frequently formed from a wire blank having beveled sheared ends.After the blank has been bent into shape the bevels will lie indifferent planes, and -when assembled with the frame, the uncut side ofone end will lie flat on the frame and present the sheared and beveledside outwardly, and the other end will present the uncut side outwardlyand have the sheared and beveled side toward the frame. lVith the bevelsin this position the latter end will present a sharp point raised abovethe frame. These buckles are made in large quantities and owing to theperversity of the, wire as fed into the machine this tendency cannoteconomically be avoided or overcome, and for similar reasons the sharpends frequently will extend to or just beyond the frame. Large numbersof these buckles are used in the fronts of overall suspenders, and insuch position come in contact with the hands and wrists of the workmenwearing them. The outstanding protruding points thus become a source ofreal danger and frequently inflict painful and at times, owing to thesurroundings in which these garments are worn, serious wounds.

The present invention contemplates safeguarding the workman or otherwearer of these buckles from the danger above outlined, and mounts aguard on the frame for shielding the tongue points and placing them outof the way of doing damage.

One practicable embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a view of a buckle of acommercial size; Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. 1 on the line 22 looking inthe direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-8 of Fig.1 looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4: is a view looking atthe buckle toward the edge which is at the top Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

Serial No. 755,120.

in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a View from the right hand end ofFig. 1. Fig. 7 is the guard detached; and Fig. 8 is a cross-section ofsuch guard.

The buckle herein illustrated is formed from wire, the frame member 10is bent from a wire and has a flattened tongue seat 11 and a pair ofeyes 12 which form pivots for the tongue member. The tongue memher isformed from a wire blank and is provided with a looped portion 13 andpivot members 1 1 which are mounted upon the eyes 12, and a pair oftongue members 15,16.

The wire which is run through the machine for shearing the tonguemembers is not always absolutely straight: any irregularities in thewire will frequently appear in the completed article. The tongue blanksare sheared by one operation, so that the bevel. at opposite ends whilelying in the same angle will not come on the same side of the wire. Itwill be seen by reference to the drawings that the beveled face 17 onthe tongue 16 faces outwardly, and that its uncut side 18 will lie flatupon the tongue seat... In the tongue 15, however, the uncut side 18 ofthe end faces outwardly and the beveled or sheared side 19 faces towardthe tongue seat but slopes away from the same. A portion of theunsheared wire inwardly of the beveled portion is shown resting upon thecorner of the tongue seat. In this 1nanner when the tongue ends areagainst the .ongue seat one of the points is protruding and standing outfrom the frame and tongue seat in such a position that it is dangerousto the workman and his clothing, and particularly his hands when thesebuckles are used in the position Where frequently employed, namely, onthe fronts of overalls for the suspenders. It sometimes happens alsothat the flat-lying tongue 16 will protrude somewhat beyond the tongueseat portion of the frame. It is frequently the case that the two prongs15, 16 do not lie in the same plane, but that when one rests 011 theframe the other is sprung away from it.

To safeguard the wearer of the buckles from the tongue I have provided aguard comprising a bar 20 extending along the outer edge of the tongueseat and secured to the frame in such position that the guard will notbe displaced readily. This guard extends above the plane of the tongueseat and of the tongue ends when in closed position and beyond such endsand seat and is disposed in such position that the tongues having theinequalities above referred to are guarded so that accidents will notarise. The guard is shown made of wire with the ends 21 bent around thetongue seat portion of the frame inwardly of the end portions 22thereof, so that lateral movement does not take place, and as the tongueseat is frequently flattened the ends 21 are securely held upon suchflattened portion.

Changes of construction may be made within the scope of the claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A buckle comprising a frame having an integral tongue seat extendingentirely across the buckle, and supporting the ends of the tongues, andsaid buckle having a pair of tongues resting on said tongue seat andadapted to engage said tongue seat when pulled by the strap, and saidbuckle raving a separately formed guard extending across said tongueseat and having portions projecting above the tongue seat, said guardand tongue seat constituting a recess adapted to receive the tonguepoints so as to avoid projection of the latter, and said guard beingfixed against movement which would carry it below the plane of thetongue points.

2. A buckle comprising a frame having a tongue seat, a pair of tonguesformed from a wire blank having sheared ends pivoted to the frame forresting upon said seat, one of said tongues being beveled toward and onefrom the tongue seat of the frame so that the point of one lies fiatupon said seat and the point of the other stands outwardly therefrom,and a separately formed guard carried by the frame adjacent the saidseat in position to guard the outstanding tongue point.

A buckle comprising a frame formed of wire and having a tongue seat, apair of tongues formed of wire and pivoted to the frame and having endsfor resting upon said seat, one of said ends being beveled toward andone from the tongue seat of the frame so that the point of one liesfiatupon such seat and the point of the other stands outwardly therefrom,and a guard formed of a separate piece of wire and carried by the frameadjacent said seat andiextending above the plane of such seat and of thetongue ends when in closed position and beyond such ends and seat anddisposed in position to guard the outstanding tongue point.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence'oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CLARK S. COMSTOCK, SR.

\Vitn'esses EUGENE V. MYERS. FRED WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

